MechWarrior Online launch-day roundup

Many mech pilots may have already been duking it out on the battlefield during the soft launch open beta. But if anyone was waiting for MechWarrior Online to officially launch before getting really serious, today's the day. From here on out, MWO loses the beta tag and forges ahead as a fully launched title. Will that fact make the battles any more intense? You'll have to be the judge of that, so slip into your favorite mech and take to the battlefield to find out. And to help you gear up for those battles, we've assembled a collection of updates, tutorials, trailers, interviews, and hands-on experiences here for you.

MechWarrior Online adds Protector Orion and new tutorialAre you amped up for this month's official launch of MechWarrior Online -- or will it not really change anything for you whatsoever? Perhaps we can get you more excited about a new content update that went live today and features an improved tutorial and a new hero 'mech.

Quickdraw added to MechWarrior Online's hangarIt can be hard to get close to someone. Especially in MechWarrior Online, where the people you want to get close to are riding walking battle tanks designed to vaporize you at long range.

MechWarrior Online brings out the FirebrandMechWarrior Online's latest update is burning up the charts (or really anything else it comes in contact with), as the game has introduced the Firebrand version of the JagerMech for players to try out.

PAX East 2013: Say hello to MechWarrior Online's new trailerThere's nothing quite like convention season for bringing out a bumper crop of new videos and trailers. Today we're bringing you MechWarrior Online's new PAX East 2013 trailer, which shows off some new gameplay and highlights the title's newest features and perks.

Massively Interview: Piranha Games' Russ Bullock talks MechWarrior OnlineIs there anything more fun than massive suits of mechanical armor smashing into one another and firing lasers all over the place? MechWarrior Online, the free-to-play MMO-like set in the MechWarrior universe and developed by Piranha Games, would argue that the answer to that question is pretty obvious.

MechWarrior Online dev diary gives handy piloting tipsIf you think you're ready to hop into the cockpit of a giant robot in MechWarrior Online and go out there all guns a-blazing, think again. You first need to learn how to pilot such a machine, which the developers say is quite unlike your traditional MMO avatar or vehicle.

Hands-on with MechWarrior OnlineLast week, we sent San Francisco freelancer Emil Vazquez to the MechWarrior Online Community Day event to get some hands-on time with the game.